My review: I love this coconut oil. For whatever reason, it doesn’t get super firm like some of the other ones I have tried. I use coconut oil as a body moisturizer while in the shower. After washing with soap and rinsing, I rub coconut oil on my skin. Rinse as usual and when you get out of the shower, lightly pat the skin with a towel, but try not to rub off all the coconut oil. This leaves your skin very soft.

From the website: “Desert Essence Pure Aromatic Tea Tree Oil comes from the bountiful outback of Australia. We have also added baking soda, which actively helps to fight plaque. Flavored with pure essential oil of Ginger for a unique and refreshing taste. Free from harsh abrasives, synthetic sweeteners, or artificial flavors.”

My review: Since I have had such great success with their tea tree oil, I was eager to try out their toothpaste. I liked everything about this toothpaste except for the flavour. I had serious doubts about a ginger flavoured toothpaste, but it was the only flavour that Whole Foods had in stock so I bought it anyways. The ginger just didn’t give my mouth a fresh feel (and tasted gross!), so I switched back to the regular stuff for now. Any natural toothpaste recommendations?

This is a spray on natural deodorant. It is aluminum free, fragrance free, stain free, colorless, and non-oily and non-alcohol based. It claims to get rid of body, foot and underarm odor effectively and can also be used for mosquito and insect bites, open wounds, acne, eczema and other skin itchiness caused by toxins.

My review: Despite these exciting claims, Dr Mist was very ineffective for me as a deodorant. It simply did not work. I have not tried it for things such as insect bites or acne, but I will probably give it a shot just to see for myself.

So what does a girl do when a natural deodorant fails?? She makes her own!

Lemon Sugar Scrub

My review: This stuff is FABULOUS!!!!!!!!!!!!! Very refreshing. You must make this! :) It is just awesome and left my skin sooo soft. I used it in the shower and it was amazing. I also tried it on my face and it was good too. The only thing I didn’t like was that it left my face very oily so I had to use a cleanser afterwards to get off some of the oil. I am hoping that it doesn’t cause breakouts on my face because I really thought this was so effective. A very cheap and effective way to exfoliate. I loved the touch of lemon too. A+++++

To be honest, I’m a bit scared to try the all natural deodorants and toothpaste, so I’m glad you are testing them out first ;) I have a dentist appointment this month, so I think I’ll ask him for his recommendations. If I find anything great, I’ll let you know.

What a cool post! That lemon scrub sounds amazing, especially as we kick into Spring/Summer. I’m a little intimidated by natural deodorants as well.. but I can’t help but cringe right now when I slather on the Dove.
Lady your glo bar pack came in yesterday and it was ~awesome~. Can’t get enough of the heaven bar (the first one that I tried.) I blogged about the experience last night if you fancy a quick read.
Excited for the meet up tomorrow <3 Thanks for the delicious bars!

I still use regular deodorant for when I am going to be working out, but after I have a shower, or I am just going out somewhere I know I’m not going to be sweating a ton, I use Tom’s of Maine – aluminium free. Works pretty well, though there is still te white residue issue, but that can be resolved with a bit more planning on my part (put deodorant on FIRST then wait about 10 minutes then put clothes on!! :)

I have found an AMAZING Natural deodorant (and is Canadian too!). Check out Rocky Mountain Soap Co. (www.rockymountainsoap.com) I am obsessed with their products at the moment (all natural) and their deodorant was my first purchase. I absolutely love it! I need to consider buying stocks in their company I love their products so much….hahaha

Where do the articles you write for Breville go? Are they available online? I would love to read them sometime.

I have seen that natural deodorant recipe and been meaning to try it for months. Please let us know how it goes!

I just bought some natural toothpaste. It is from the JASON line of powersmile and it a peppermint gel. I opted to keep fluoride in mine. I love it, it is minty and fresh without the gross artificial sweet and I like how it is a gel since I am not a big paste fan. It also has coq10 in it to strengthen gums. I am really hoping this helps since mine always bleed when I floss them!

Angela, I make my own facial scrub too (http://chicagomarathonval.com/2009/08/31/diy-do-it-yourself-day/)… I use this basic recipe and sometimes throw in other scent. The coconut oil works great… I use the scrub and then wet my hands to rub it off, so I get rid of most of it but that a bit of residue still stays on to moisturize :)

Thanks for these reviews – I am definitely going to try making the homemade scrub, and I am excited for the possibility that this natural deodorant might work. Can you please keep us updated with a review of this deodorant? I’d love to get off the aluminum!

I have not had any luck with natural deodorant or toothpaste…they are just never effective and are so expensive! Plus my dentist was pretty disappointed with my last appointment so I went back to Colgate!

My friend makes and sells deodorant pretty similar to that..she adds a few more things, 1 being “clove oil.” I know it sounds weird to have clove scented pits but it is AWEsome stuff. I guess clove is a natural anti-persp. The smell is not intense at all..Chris never thinks I smell like Christmas cookies or anything ;) Give it a try! Genius to put in a re-used twist up container!

That sugar scrub looks great! I’ll have to try it sometime. I use a vegan deoderant. It’s lavender scented and I think it works fine. I don’t use a natural toothpaste, but have been thinking about trying. I’ve also been trying to stay natural with my skin care products.

I’ve made facial scrubs at home with lots of success, but I’m starting to think an effective natural deodarant is the holy grail of personal care products – I’ve tried ’em all and it just doesn’t seem to work. I’ll be checking back to see if you had any success with your homemade version!

This is too funny that you just posted this post since this morning I was JUST thinking about natural deodorants and toothpastes. I was wondering what were good brands, and if they actually worked. Thanks for this.

I just made natural deodorant for the first time on Monday! The recipe is just a little different than yours (you can see my blog post about it here: http://www.pocoleon.com/green/a-fresh-batch-of-deodorant/). Mine has tea tree oil in it and that makes it really cooling and nice. So far, I think it works better than any other store-bought natural deodorant I’ve tried…and I’ve used natural for several years.

Hey Angela! I’m a loyal reader/lurker. I wanted to tell you I made my very first green monster this morning and loved it! I posted about it on my blog. I’m excited to try another one tomorrow. I’m 33 weeks pregnant and I’m sure the baby is loving his greens!

I can’t wait to try the Passionate Homemaking deodorant. Her blog was the first I ever started reading a year ago, and I just love it. I have tried many different natural toothpastes, and by far my absolute favorite is Kiss My Face Aloe Vera whitening toothpaste. The flavor, feel, effectiveness, price, etc. are terrific. My husband just went to the dentist today after not going for a long time, and the dentist said his teeth look amazing and so clean. I’m going on Tuesday, so we’ll see! :)

That is the same recipe for deo that I use and it works great. Even my husband likes it. But, I do melt the coconut oil first, it stirs much easier that way. I just pop it in the fridge and it is fine.

Angela,
I’ve just recently fell upon your blog and absolutely love it! Your story is sincerely inspiring, and I love your “healthy size” post so much. What TRUTH to bring to women all around the world who are on the journey of full well-being and healthiness.

Your homemade deodorant is awesome! I even saw coconut oil at the grocery store today and thought about picking it up to make some :)

It’s so gorgeous here too… Couldn’t wait to get outside and just came back in!

I use coconut oil for a body moisturizer, but never as a face moisturizer. Did you find that you had any issues with breakouts when you first started using it, or was it an easy transition from your former face moisturizer?

I am a fan of TOm’s of Maine products- I use the lavendar deoderand and it is fantastic, keeps me from stinking and is totally natural! As well as Burt’s Bees spray-on deo (it smells a bit like old spice though)
Also, Tom’s fennel toothpaste is also wonderful. It seems like an odd taste for toothpaste but I like it and it’s very freshening!

I like the idea of a natural underarm product, but I could never go with just a deodorant. I am a sweaty pig, and need an anti-perspirant. I know, I know, they aren’t good for you, but I am not walking around all day with giant pit stains.

I don’t think I could deal with ginger toothpaste either. Mint is the only flavour that makes my mouth feel fresh.

I LOVE the idea of making my own deodorant. I’m allergic to most conventional deodorants. amd I have a salt spray deodorant, which does work for me. Although honestly, most of the time I go without. Its like, over the years of not wearing real deodorant, now I sweat less. Anyway, I still love the idea of making my own. And I’ve made sugar body scrubs before, and that scrub souds like it’d smell amazing!!

As far as natural toothpastes, I do like Tom’s of Main. I’m not sure if it was theirs, I think so, but my last toothpaste was a fennel flavor, which I personally loved, it made my mouth feel really clean.

I made this (and see that it got linked above) and just wanted to say it seriously does work! I love it. And I had all the ingredients on hand, which was even better. I’m smelling all coconutty fresh as I write this comment :)

Here’s my toothpaste recipe if you ever decide to make your own. You can add in tea tree oil too, if you want! The glycerin makes it just like regular toothpaste. Let me know if you have any questions!

Thanks for Deo recipe. I am definitely trying it out. I don’t have sweaty armpits and I don’t reek even when working out. So this might be a perfect substitute for the chemical-load deo I’m currently using.

I am going to make both of these! How do you use the sugar scrub, though? All over or just on your face? Do you just kind of rub in on and rinse it off? I made a similar scrub once (but without the lemon–love that addition) and it just made me feel kind of waterproof and made the shower really slippery.I’m still going to try it again, though, because I love the idea and am determined to like it. :)

I use it on my face and body. It does make you feel waterproof (love that analogy!), so I always wash my face afterwards with my tea tree oil cleanser by desert essence. Just a tiny bit of the scrub is leftover and my skin feels moist. In the shower you can follow the scrub with your cleansing soap, but I find a good towel off leaves my body nice and soft.

New here but wanted to comment anyway, I make all of my own body care products. I use them as well as retail them. My body scrubs consist of demerera sugar and lemon juice…..that’s it! Just add enough juice to make it a pasty consistency, put it in a container and use 2-3 times a week–in the shower only!! Do Not use this in the bath, it WILL bring on a yeast infection. Also, toothpaste…..baking soda and some peppermint EO, a few drops’ll do ya, leave it in a container in the bathroom. I make up one container for each member of my family so there’s no worry about double dipping. My dentist is pleased with the results and so am I!

I know this is an older post, but I just stumbled across it from the link to today’s.

For toothpaste, Weleda has a salt toothpaste that I love. The peppperminty taste is good, and the salt leaves my mouth refreshed. My children don’t like the salt so I get the Plant Gel toothpaste; it has a much milder flavor.

With regards to deoderant, My Hero and I have been using salt crystal deoderant sticks for the past 4 to 5 years. There was a HUGE difference when I got him to switch. He sweats profusely. Sometimes I wondered if he ought to take 2 showers a day. But after he switched from regular deoderant (from Wal-Mart) to the salt crystal deoderant, he sweat a lot less and the odor was almost unnoticeable (not the case before).

I like the homemade scrub idea. I love your blog. It’s happy, friendly and uplifting. I read it every day.

Hi,
I tried an anise toothpaste from an online health food store and loved it. That particular store discontinued it but you could probably find it online elsewhere. The maker is boiron I may not have the correct spelling anise flavor. This toothpaste is very fresh because it is made from anise seeds.

You can also try a scrub without oil. mix honey, finely chopped almonds or sugar for the scrub effect, and fresh lime. Mix equal parts of what you need to use and scrub away and you will feel the softness of the honey afterwards.

I noticed that this post is more than 2 years old but I thought I would comment anyway… I have been looking for natural face cleansers, etc. and I recently found a couple that use the lemon juice scrub – but instead of oil, use honey. It acts as a moisturizer, but not as heavy as oil. I just tried it on my face (which is prone to being oily) and it didn’t leave my skin feeling oily at all. Just thought I’d mention it, in case you still haven’t found something better since you wrote this blog post. (I only just found your blog, so I don’t know if you’ve written about this since.)

Angela, I love Nature’s Gate! They sell natural, vegan toothpastes (including: whitening gel, cool mint gel, crème de mint, and crème de anise). I’ve tried the mint cream and anise, and they keep my teeth white, and feeling clean. Also, they also sell a wide variety of other natural, vegan products like hair care, skin care, sun care, acne care, and deodorants! I haven’t specifically tried their deodorants, but if they work like their toothpaste, then I’m sure they’re great! You should check it out!

Thank you, Angela, for all of your fantastic ideas. I absolutely love my lemon sugar scrub, and included it in my own blog (which, is in its infancy). I have also given it as gifts – My Mom loves hers, too!
http://unavidasana.org/lemonize-your-skin-care/

I also love using My Magic Mud Tooth Powder to brush my teeth. They are super clean and are whiter than before!

If you use this, be sure to spit it out afterwards as close to your drain as possible because it will splatter all over the place! The powder is black (charcoal) so keep a dark towel handy in case you do get some splatters!

Propylene Glycol – (PG): used to break down protein and cellular structure (exactly what
skin is made of. If not, then perhaps this is not the best choice for
you individually. Using the tips of your fingers for application gives you
better control on where the product should go.